Arizona needs truckers' input for truck parking survey

By Tyson Fisher, Land Line staff writer | Wednesday, December 20, 2017

As truck parking continues to be a problem, states are taking measures to address the issue. The latest comes from the Arizona Department of Transportation, which is asking truckers to complete a survey to get a better understanding of the situation in the Grand Canyon State.

Through consultations with truck drivers and trucking companies, as well as state and national research, the Arizona State Freight Plan has identified truck parking facilities as a major issue affecting the safety and efficiency of freight movement. Interstate 17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff and Interstate 10 between Tucson and the California border are among the worst areas in the state.

Forced to park in unsafe areas, alternative parking behaviors may have a negative impact on highway safety, infrastructure condition, public safety and quality of life, according to Eric Oberhart, a consultant with CPCS Transcom. CPCS is the lead consultant on this project.

Future conditions are likely to exacerbate the problem, including increased freight and electronic logging devices.

“Trucking industry executives in Arizona expect parking conditions to deteriorate in the future as electronic logging devices are implemented, and as the volume of truck traffic increases faster than the development of dedicated truck parking spaces,” Oberhart said.

CPCS will identify where trucks are parking in Arizona and how the new ELD requirement may affect Arizona’s parking.

According to Jason’s Law survey results, only 18 percent of Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association members who took the survey identified Arizona as a state with a parking shortage. On the other hand, only 14 percent named Arizona has a state with a sufficient supply of parking. Results were virtually the same among American Trucking Associations drivers.

In fact, Arizona ranked among the highest for number of public facilities, ratio of public to private spaces, private spaces per 100,000 daily truck vehicle miles traveled, all spaces per 100,000 daily truck vehicle miles traveled, and all spaces per 100 miles of the National Highway System.

The survey will take 5-10 minutes to complete and will be used as part of a study to propose policies and projects to improve truck parking in Arizona. To take the survey, click here.